Lucy froze, then eased her finger off the trigger. Was that...Scott's voice just now? Out in the middle of the forest? But what were the odds she'd just run into him? Also, it was coming from the same direction that the spider had come from... Perhaps the sound of gunfire could have drawn his attention. But still, for him to be so close, the spider would have had to walk right past him... Or maybe he was tailing the spider for some reason?

It didn't matter. Whatever the reason, hearing her son's voice reminded Lacy she was here for more important things than killing pirates. However, there was still a lot not adding up. Better safe than sorry...

-

Scott waited nervously. He'd just taken a considerable risk calling out like that, but he'd been unable to wait any longer. As the seconds ticked by, he wondered if he hadn't just made a significant mistake when a familiar voice finally answered. "Scott, honey, if that's you, can you come out into the clearing where I can see you?"

It sounded like his mom, but Scott couldn't see her all that well up in the tree like she was. Why couldn't he have waited for daytime? Of course, she could have spotted Charlotte's hand and killed it anyway, and who knows how long it would take to find her again... Scott shook his head. He was stalling. It was time to make a decision.

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Scott stepped into the small clearing below the tree he hoped his mom was in. After another seemingly impossibly long moment, he heard the sound of someone descending the tree.

-

Charlotte watched as the female landed on the ground, then rushed over and grappled Scott. Scott didn't seem to resist and, after a moment, grappled the female in return. Having been on the receiving end of such a grapple from Alice several times, She recognized this as a "hug." Something humans did to show affection or receive comfort. It seemed odd that such a restrictive embrace would be comforting, but then again, humans were a very strange people.

As the two humans held each other, they both babbled about how they couldn't believe the other was who they were. The mother asked about Alice, and Scott said she was back at camp. Then, as she asked how Scott had found her, the mother noticed Charlott's eye watching them.

In one smooth motion, the mother shoved Scott behind her and pulled out her gun, pointing it at Charlotte's eye. Charlotte started to move but was ready to lose another appendage (It was a good thing her meeting with Scott and Alice had gone so much less violently.) when Scott shoved his mom's arm into the air and shouted, "No, wait, she's with me!"

-

Lacy looked down at another nightmare-inducing, eye-covered spider and then back to Scott. "She's with you?!? That thing is a she?!? Are you okay? Did they do something to you?"

Scot held up his hands to try and calm her down, but Lacy wasn't about to put her gun away, not what that living nightmare stood there watching them. Meanwhile, Scott rushed to explain. "Wait, it's okay. She's intelligent and friendly! Her name is Charlotte, and she helped me find you!"

Lacy looked at Scott, then back at the nightmare eye spider. "You're telling me that thing is intelligent? It doesn't have enough room for anything besides eyes, legs, and a mouth. There's no way it's intelligent!

Scott pushed her hand toward the ground as he answered. "Well, it's more complicated than that. That is more like a limb to her than a full body, as was the larger spider you shot up a moment ago..."

Lacy shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, just...no. This is a little too weird. We need to get to your sister before these spiders find her and get her out of here. I don't trust you two around...whatever that is!"

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Scott looked a little hesitant as if he was afraid to explain something. "Ummm, yeah, about that. Alice is with Charlotte right now. Charlotte is actually watching over her while I was out looking for you."

Lacy looked at her son in horror. "You left your sister with that...thing? Are you insane? How do you know it'd not just waiting for you to split up so it can eat you?"

Surprisingly, Scott's face turned red as he argued back. "I trust Charlotte mom. I trust her with my life and Alice's! Do you want to know why? It's because she's already proven herself. When we were alone and starving in the forest, she was there for us! Alice would already be dead, and I would have been captured if not for Charlotte always being there for us, even before we trusted her! Honestly, she's done more for us in just a few weeks than you have in the last several years!"

That statement cut Lacy to the bone. She dropped her hands and felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her as she stared incomprehensibly at Scott, who was already starting to look like he regretted his words. "Listen, Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that..."

Lacy held up a hand to stop him from lying as she closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and took a deep breath. "No, you're right... I haven't been a very good mother lately... Listen, I just want... I just want to make sure both my babies are all right. Let's go see Alice, and we'll figure things out from there, okay?"

Scott nodded. "Alright." Then he looked down at the eye monster and tilted his head as if in thought. "Well, your normal ride is gone. I guess I could carry you?"

To Lacy's horror, another spider crawled out of the undergrowth. This one didn't have so many disturbing eyes, but it had something she could only describe loosely as a mouth. What was worse, it started to speak... "That is not necessary. I already have another hand on the way. Then I can lead you back to your hut."

Lacy stared at the many-legged talking nightmare, then back to her son. "It talks?"

Scott looked back at her and smiled as if he knew something she didn't. "Oh, yeah, like I said, Charlotte is smart. Probably smarter than you or me. She learned our language over a couple of weeks and has been helping me build our camp into something more than a lean-to and a campfire."

The horrendous mouth spider spoke up again. "You had already done that once before without my help. I just helped with your new camp after you moved."

Lacy was looking back and forth, confused. "New camp? Moved?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah, originally, we set up camp next to a creek, but then we found a bunch of people looking for Alice and me. Charlotte helped us spy on them. They didn't seem to have our best interests in mind, so we moved away from the creek, which was too obvious a place to look for us, and closer to Charlotte. That way, she could help hide and protect us."

That reminded Lacy why she was in this situation. "You said people were looking for you? Do you know where they're at?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah, they're back at our old camp. There seems to be a drop ship and about twenty or thirty people, though I didn't get a great look. I didn't want to stay too long."

Lacy shook her head. All this time, not only had Scott and Alice been safe, but they'd actually been one step ahead of the pirates looking for them. Looking at her son, she couldn't help but be a little sad that he'd obviously grown up much more than he should have had to these last few years. Something for which she was largely responsible. But she was also proud of him.

Looking over at the spider monsters, Lacy was still unclear how she felt about them/her/it. If half of what Scott was saying was true, she owed this...thing her gratitude. But it didn't make sense. Why did this spider monster want to help Scott and Alice? Or Lacy, for that matter? It just didn't make sense! But according to Scott, the spiders were with Alice right now, so it wouldn't do to anger them.

Eventually, another spider like the one she'd recently killed walked into the clearing. The extra creepy mouth and eye spiders got on its back, and it started walking away. Scott indicated they should follow, leaving Lacy nothing to do but ensure the safety was on before tucking the gun into her waistband and following.

As they were walking, the mouth spider began speaking again. "Scott. I noticed your mother called you by a variety of different names, including honey and you and Alice collectively as babies. Should I refer to you in such a manner in the future?"

Lacy choked while Scott shouted out. "No!" Then, a moment later, he answered again, more calmly this time. "Uhhh, no, definitely not. Those are...um...terms used exclusively between people of certain relationships. It would be highly inappropriate for you to refer to me or Alice like that."

Shaking her head, Lacy couldn't help but think that was a very polite way of saying it would be creepy as hell...